Protective helmets and/or headgear have long been utilized in such dangerous fields as construction and welding. It has recently become the law in most states that riders of motorcycles and/or trail bikes must wear the protective headgear in order to operate the vehicle on the highway systems. One of the areas of the head which requires protection and yet which necessitates the capability of being exposed when necessary for conversation or the like is the face. Most of the helmets which are on the market today cover the majority of the head to a position just above or at the eyebrows and then curve down to a position slightly forward of the ears. Some of the helmets, however, known as full helmets, extend forwardly at the bottom edge thereof to provide protection for the chin and jaw areas. When a face shield, wind screen or the like is used with these helmets, it is necessary to be able to remove this element for conversation or the like.
The historical development of the protective visor can be seen in the prior art known to the present inventor and includes U.S. Pat. No. 2,302,231 granted to Lobelle on Nov. 12, 1942. This particular reference deals with a means for protecting the eyes of the wearer of a military-type steel helmet and includes a visor which is pivotally attached such that it can be pushed upwardly up into the interior of the helmet when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,386, granted to Bowers on Mar. 17, 1953, likewise deals with a protective shield which is utilized in conjunction with a skull guard such as is worn by industrial workers. This particular helmet attachment includes a strap means permanently secured to the face shield which is then removably attached to the helmet. The face shield is either in a down position protecting the face or in an up position where at it is pivoted completely to the rear of the helmet per se.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,239, granted to Bivens on Apr. 21, 1953, discloses an elaborate head strap means utilized for securing a pair of lenses before the wearer's eyes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,005, granted June 16, 1964 to Herbine et al., discloses yet another method of removably attaching a face protector to a construction type helmet which includes a spring biased band which is wrapped around the exterior of the helmet and held in place by a snap means and includes as an integral part thereof a means to pivot the helmet upwardly, out of the line of vision.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,816, granted to Webb et al., on July 27, 1971, includes yet another means of securing a face shield to a construction type helmet and includes a two piece strap which may be adjustable secured to the helmet and as an integral part includes pivot means whereby the face shield may be moved into or out of the line of vision of the wearer.
A retractable face protective assembly more directly applicable to the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,335, granted to Fisher on Apr. 17, 1973. This particular face shield comes as an integral unit which is secured to the helmet and includes an arcuate track as a part of the face shield. The portion of the face shield which attaches to the helmet has an outwardly projecting element which fits into the track and limits the movement of the face shield from a position out of the line of vision downwardly to a position in front of the face.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,042, granted to Gager, Jr. on Mar. 19, 1974 includes a bill-like apparatus which is secured to the front of the helmet and is adapted to pivotally receive thereon a wind or face shield which is movable from the down, locked position, protecting the face, to an upwardly retracted position allowing access to the face.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 168,057, granted to Margwarth on Oct. 28, 1952 deals primarily with a pilot's helmet and includes a movable visor assembly which is pivotally secured to the cap and operates along a track assembly mounted to the top of the helmet itself.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 228,700, granted to Gager, Jr. on Oct. 23, 1973, directs itself to a design aspect of the above noted structural application.
With the above noted prior art in mind it is readily apparent that there is no currently available means whereby a face shield may be readily attached and/or removed from a helmet such as a motorcycle helmet and still give the operator the ability to pivot the windshield upwardly for conversation or the like. Thos pivotal brackets presently known to the inventor are either limited to a specific configuration of the face shield or are formed as a part of the face shield, thus preventing the replacement of only the shield portion of the assembly. Yet another detrimental aspect of the face shield mounting brackets currently on the market lies in the fact that they do not fit snugly against the helmet or in fact the elements themselves do not fit tightly against each other, thereby allowing a distracting and dangerous downdraft of wind through the helmet when the vehicle is traveling at highway speeds.
With the above noted problems and prior art in mind it is an object of the present invention to provide a bracket attachment for use in conjunction with motorcycle helmets whereby the operator may readily, easily and inexpensively replace the windshield upon his helmet and further, an attachment giving the operator the ability to easily remove the windshield from in front of his face at desirable times.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a removable bracket means for use with motorcycle helmets to support a face shield wherein the bracket elements when the face shield is in a down or face covering position form a weather-tight seal preventing the inflow of water and/or wind. Further the interconnection between the windshield itself and the bracket is for the same reasons likewise sealed.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a removable bracket for use upon a motorcycle helmet or the like wherein the bracket comprises two pivotally secured elements, the first one to be attached to the helmet itself and including means whereby the element will accommodate different snap positions upon the helmet and the second element including means at the opposite ends of its arcuate portion permitting adjustment of the length and/or shape to accommodate windshields of a great variety of configurations and snap positions.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a two piece pivotally secured attachment for motorcycle helmets or the like wherein the pivotal portion can be adjusted as to the amount of friction thereby permitting the bracket to accommodate both light and heavy face shields without structural modification.